


Natural Birth

by amanda_jolene



Series: The Nelsons [11]
Category: My Mad Fat Diary
Genre: F/M, Gen, The Nelsons AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-25
Updated: 2014-07-25
Packaged: 2018-02-10 09:27:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2019885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amanda_jolene/pseuds/amanda_jolene
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Natural as in... no drugs?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Natural Birth

“Natural birth?” 

Linda looks at Rae for a moment, eyes wide and jaw unhinged in disbelief. Rae gives her a shrug and nods. “Yeah.”

“Natural? As in no drugs whatsoever?”

“Yes. That’s general what natural birth entails, mum.” 

“Rachel, have you lost your mind?” 

There weren’t many times when Finn agreed with Linda but he was sure on this particular subject, they did. He had been half-asleep when Rae had told him that she wanted to have their child naturally and his brain (still asleep and lightly dreaming about toaster strudels for some reason) couldn’t fully process what she meant. Naturally? How else would you have a baby? Not like you could carry it for 9 months and then go pick it out of the garden.

But then she had roused him from his stupor and explained all about drug-free births and home births and birthing pools and mid-wives. He wasn’t sure what face he was making but she had laughed and told him it would be alright. Besides it was just something she had been reading about, didn’t mean she wanted to do it. 

Obviously she did want to do it. 

Linda’s face is still horrified and Finn is positive she’s having the same horrific thoughts he did when Rae told him she had made up her mind. The first pregnancy had not been easy. Actually, it had been downright terrifying even after the tiny boy made his way into the world because for a while it looked like neither mum nor baby was going to make it. They had pulled through beautifully, though, but Finn tried to remember how fast things had went sour during the deliver and if they would have time enough to get to the hospital if this pregnancy did much of the same. 

“But Rae… they just built that nice new Women and Children’s ward at the hospital. Don’t you think you would be much more comfortable there?”

Rae shakes her head. “No, I don’t. I’ve given this a lot of thought and I think this is what’s best for me and the baby. Last time I was so stressed at being at the hospital… I think that’s what caused some of my complications.”

“But what…” Linda trailed off, her hands fluttering. She didn’t have to finish the sentence, they all knew what she was thinking. What if there were complications with this one, too? At the last check-up, they had been told that their newest arrival would be broad shouldered and he was already weighing in heavier than his brother did at his birth. What if she needed an emergency c-section? What if the pain of delivering a larger baby was too much and she needed drugs?

“What if they have to do an episiotomy? Those are very painful.” Linda concluded. 

“I had one with Jere.”

“You had drugs, too.”

“Which is, I think, another thing that contributed to the complications.” 

Seeing she was getting nowhere with Rae, Linda turned her pleading to her son-on-law. “Finn, surely you don’t think this is a good idea?” 

Of course he didn’t. He thought she was out of her mind for wanting to take this particular route but what could he do? It was her body. She was the one having to push his big shouldered kid out… what right did he have to tell her how to do it? 

“I support Rae in whatever she thinks is right for her.” 

Rae beams at him and Linda gives him a sour look (the same one she gave him when he told her he wanted to marry Rae). “Well, yes, I think we all support her but do you think it’s good idea?” 

He’s never been good at lying. The few times he really tried lying ended in catastrophe (he was still, 10 years later, apologizing to Chop for telling him that a metal gasket as a cock ring but honest to God, he didn’t think Chop was that fucking’ dense) so he knows he really doesn’t have a choice but to answer truthfully. With a lowering of his head, he shrugged one shoulder upward. “I guess not.” 

Rae still isn’t talk to him when they get home. Her mouth had flew open in outrage but (thankfully) she was too stunned to speak. Linda had nodded her head curtly and given Rae a withering look. “See, even your husband know it’s a bad idea.” 

Rae wouldn’t let him help give Jere a bath. Refused to let him in the boy’s bedroom when she was putting him down for the night (he had to wait outside the door and to his dismay, Jere was already fast asleep by the time Rae exited the room). When he made it their bedroom, she was already dressed for bed, her mouth set in a firm line as she pulled down the covers and got in bed. 

“Rae,” he sighed. “I didn’t mean nothing by it.”

Nothing. She reached over and grabbed her book off the nightstand, flipping it open and letting the bookmark slide into her lap. 

“Honest. I didn’t want to lie to your Mum. I think she can tell when I’m lying and the last time I lied to her, she punched me in the back. You remember that?”

She was still silent but he didn’t miss the slight upturn of her mouth. Whether she was smiling at the memory or smiling at the fact that her mum had chased Finn down the stairs, landing a hard punch to his left kidney before he made it out the door, he didn’t know. But if she was smiling, she wasn’t really mad.

“I just meant that it worries me. We had some many problems getting pregnant with Jere and then we almost lost… I almost lost both of you. I just thought…” 

They both knew what he had thought. He had set in the waiting room of the hospital, his newborn in the Neonatal unit and his wife in the OR, sure that he was about to lose both of them. He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t thought of what he would do if they both were gone. Can’t pretend he didn’t imagine going home and downing two different bottles. His whole life was collapsing around him and he was scared. 

And he was just as scared this time, only in a different way. Because if something happened to Rae this time around, there would be no easy escape for him because he had a very tiny two year old who depended on him and loved him fiercely (and Finn returned that fierce love). 

“It’s just… what if something goes wrong?” 

After a long moment, Rae finally put her book down. “It’s been different this time, hasn’t it? We didn’t even need the fertility drugs to get pregnant. I haven’t been sick. Everything has checked out well and even if there are some little problems, a mid-wife is trained to handle these things.”

“What if it’s something big like the last time?” 

She rubs her tummy and Finn wonders if his newest son can feel the palm of her hand. “It won’t be.” 

Maybe he’s in the wrong on this one. He’s supposed to be comforting her, assuring her that things will be fine and here he is belly aching. “You’re right. I’m being dumb.” 

“No, I don’t think that. It’s the same things I’ve thought about. This just feels right to me.”

That’s the end of that. When Rae tells Linda the next day that they have decided to go on with the home birth (and the birthing pool), she sighs into the phone. “Well, call me the minute you go into labor.” 

It happens two weeks later. 

Finn keeps telling himself to calm down. They’ve gone through this before. Well, not in their home, but still. The baby is right on track, Rae is dilating beautifully and at any moment, his son could be arriving. 

He’s a nervous wreck. 

And he wonders how in the world Rae is able to stay so calm. 

The mid-wife arrives first and then Linda, and the three of them work on setting up the birthing pool. Finn is babbling so much, asking so many questions that the mid-wife actually glares at him and Rae removes Finn from the task of setting up the birthing pool and puts him charge of Jere (who thinks this is all wonderful and fun and is determined to crawl into the pool set up in their living room). 

But then the time comes and Linda takes Jere into his bedroom to play because Finn and Rae had decided that while birth was natural and awesome, it wasn’t exactly something they wanted to subject their two year old to. 

She’s doing so well. Finn keeps telling her this as he spoons ice chips into her mouth and wipes her head off with a wet cold cloth. And she is doing well until the baby starts crowning. 

The mid-wife looks concerned and suggests Rae get on her knees and lean on the side of the pool. “Big shoulders, this one.” 

Finn helps her into position and his heart clenches when she looks at him, eyes wide with fear. “I should have listened to you and mum.”

“Nonsense. You’re doing great.” 

She shakes her head adamantly. “No, I’m not. I’m like the worst natural birth giver ever because I really want that epidural, Finn. I really want it.”

“Too late for that now,” the mid-wife says sarcastically. “Bear down. It’s time for this pup to come out.”

Rae’s face contorts in pain as she grits out, “Don’t call my child a puppy! He’s not a damn dog!” She relaxes only a fraction, her eyes frantic with worry. “What if I can’t push him out? What if he’s too big? Oh my God, I’ve made a huge mistake and-“

Finn grabs both of her hands in his, holding her steady and letting her push down on him until he thinks his fingers are about to break. “Don’t worry about that, Rae. You’ve got this. Just a little more. You can do it. You survived college and uni and Chloe’s 4 divorces-“ she laughs at this and bears down just a little more. “You can survive this.”

“It really hurts,” her chin lowers until it’s touching her chest. The mid-wife is telling her to keep on pushing and that it’s almost over, love and just-

“I can’t do it!” Rae near yells at him. “I can’t. It’s too much. I was an absolute idiot for-“

“We get to hold this one right away.” Finn whispers. He’s not sure where the words come from but with it comes a light feeling and Rae looks up at him, panting. 

“What?”

“We didn’t get to hold Jere ‘til he was a day old, remember that? This one’s different Rae. We get to hold him now and he’s going to be fine so don’t you dare say you can’t because you can. You have to. He’s depending on you.”

She grits her teeth and crushed two of his fingers (he’ll be so elated with his new son that he won’t realize they are crooked and out of place until tomorrow) but in a matter of minutes, she’s crying tears of joy and holding their son (who has Rae’s nose and Finn’s mouth). 

“Sebastian,” she murmurs, kissing his tiny face


End file.
